Washington, DC-  Almost a year after the ChoicePoint data theft scandals rocked the country raising public concerns about identity theft, President Bush has announced his plans to launch a new executive order on identity theft, but the President’s dedication to the privacy of citizens is out of step with the legislation driven in Congress by his own party.  Representative Edward J. Markey (D-MA), co-chair of the Congressional Privacy Caucus, made the following remarks on the President’s sudden concern about identity theft.

“More than 55 million Americans have had their personal information compromised since data broker ChoicePoint announced a breach in its systems in February 2005. Now, more than a year after the ChoicePoint breach, the Republican-controlled Congress continues to put the interests of the data brokers over the interests of the millions of Americans whose personal data is jeopardized. Consumers’ Social Security numbers, medical records, financial data and related sensitive information are precious pieces of data.  This delay is unacceptable,” said Rep. Markey.

“Personal identifiers like Social Security numbers can unlock the doors to Americans’ private lives and bank accounts.  We must not allow consumers’ most personal data to be bought and sold in the data markets or to be left accessible to data thieves.  That is why I have introduced several pieces of legislation to close the loopholes that allow data brokers to buy and sell consumer data without proper safeguards and to prevent the sale of Social Security numbers.”

Rep. Markey is the sponsor H.R. 1080, the “Information Protection and Security Act”, which would subject information brokers like ChoicePoint to federal regulation by the Federal Trade Commission, and require that such brokers comply with a set of new fair information practice rules and H.R. 1078, the “Social Security Number Protection Act,” which would bring a halt to unregulated commerce in Social Security numbers and make it crime for a person to sell or purchase Social Security numbers. The House Energy and Commerce Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing on H.R. 1078 tomorrow afternoon and a markup of this legislation is expected to follow.

A recent survey reveals that 97 percent of those surveyed rate identity theft as a serious problem, with 48 percent saying they now avoid online purchases out of fear of their financial data being stolen.  Later this week, the House Energy and Commerce Committee will hold a hearing on Rep. Markey’s legislation that prohibits the sale of Social Security numbers. 

For more information on Rep. Markey’s legislation to protect consumer privacy check out: http://markey.house.gov/

FACT CHECK: President Bush and the Republicans’ Record of Inaction on Identity Theft

FACT: It Took 55 Million Losses of Information for President Bush to Act
Since the massive ChoicePoint data breach on February 15th, 2005, the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse has documented 55,214,769 pieces of information have been breached that expose individuals to identity theft or qualify for disclosure under state laws.
http://www.privacyrights.org/ar/ChronDataBreaches.htm

FACT: Millions of Households Victimized by Identity Theft
The most recent data available from the Department of Justice shows that 3.6 million U.S. households – 3% of the total households in the country – found out that they were victims of identity theft in a six-month period in 2004 alone.
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/press/it04pr.htm

FACT: Republicans Let the Fox Guard the Henhouse
In a straight party-line vote on November 3rd of last year, Republicans on a key House panel voted to eviscerate state laws that require companies to notify consumers that their data has been breached – such as the law in California that required ChoicePoint to disclose their massive security breach – by pre-empting these laws with voluntary disclosure requirements that allows the company that allowed the consumer’s data to be stolen on their watch to determine whether the consumers should be notified.
http://markey.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=504&Itemid=52

FACT: Republicans Support Outsourcing of Data to Countries With Even Weaker Protections than Ours
House Republicans also voted down a series of Democratic amendments that would have strengthened consumer protections from identity theft, including an amendment from Rep. Markey that would have required that consumers be notified and give their permission before a company can send sensitive personal data about them to a country that the FTC has determined fails to provide adequate and enforceable privacy protections.
http://energycommerce.house.gov/108/Markups/11032005markup1696.htm

FACT: 94% of State Attorneys General Want Stronger ID Theft Protections
47 state Attorneys General wrote a letter to Congressional leaders urging support for stronger notification and security laws on the issue of identity theft.
http://www.naag.org/news/pdf/20051028-signon-InfoSecurityIDTheftLetter.pdf